Brewpub is unique offering in county

Monday

May 12, 2014 at 11:00 PM

History buffs and beer connoisseurs will have something in common at Constantine Brewing Company.

By Jef RietsmaJournal Correspondent

History buffs and beer connoisseurs will have something in common at Constantine Brewing Company.Set to open in about a month, the downtown brewpub will feature an abundance of historic artifacts that owner and brewmeister Matt Ryan uncovered during the year he spent gutting and refurbishing the one-time flower store — among numerous other businesses — at 145 S. Washington St.The most striking and obvious will be at the 12-seat bar. Ryan preserved pieces of the original plank floor and covered them with a clear seal to showcase the wood as the bar top. Other sections of the floor have been used for trim.“There’s quite a history here and one day I happened to find an Indian head penny from the 1890s,” he said.The coin is preserved under the coating atop the L-shaped bar.Ryan plans to showcase many mementos he uncovered during the building’s rehabilitation.History aside, the main draw at the soon-to-open brewpub will be beer. Ryan has invested a considerable amount of money and time to perfect his brewing skills, even growing his own hops.He said home-grown hops will merely supplement what he purchases from a Holland-area wholesaler that sells 48 varieties of Michigan-grown hops. Ryan said he plans to have six taps and maintain a standard trio of beers. The others, he said, will be offered on a seasonal or limited basis, depending on popularity.According to terms of his license, Ryan cannot sell beer other than what is brewed on the premises. The business also will sell wine by the glass and feature a limited menu.He said the food side of the business has been a matter of consideration. Without a deep-fryer, Constantine Brewing Company will offer foods off the grill, including barbecue, burgers, small pizza and appetizers such as chips and salsa.Ryan said he is completing the hiring process and expects to have a staff of about 10. The 2,000-square-foot business won’t be an ideal destination for fraternity boys or people looking to get rowdy, he said.“I’m pretty serious about brewing good beer, and quality is a strong standard,” he said. “We have a music room (in the adjoining space to the south of the brewpub) and it’s going to be the kind of place where people will enjoy a laid-back atmosphere, mellow music and a good time.”Ryan purchased the two-building property in August 2012 and received a building permit in May 2013. He called the subsequent 12 months a period “where the hammer went down.”Ryan, 55, had to contract labor, including plumbing and electrical, to ensure compliance with state building codes. But the “grunt work,” including drywall, flooring and the entire brewing unit, he did on his own.A barrel of beer takes about a week to produce, requiring a brewing process that last four to five hours, then a fermentation period in one of his four, 110-gallon fermenters, a process the requires about a week.He originally hoped to open last fall, but soon realized there’s little to gain from rushing the process.“I really didn’t think about the inspections and the process that would entail, but I didn’t want to rush things and open with a lot of issues that still had to be addressed,” he said. “You see that happen too often and they simply run into a mess if they don’t have everything just right before they open.”Ryan said he is encouraged by the anticipation people in the community and around St. Joseph County have expressed about the opening of Constantine Brewing Company.He said it will be the first brewpub in St. Joseph County.“The reception from the community has been pretty overwhelming, actually … we’re getting a lot of hits on our Facebook page,” he said. “People are popping in all the time, asking when we’re going to open and they’re looking forward to coming in, so I’m pretty sure this was the right spot for this kind of business.”

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